Every spring and summer, livestock producers incur losses as a result of poisonous plants. Acute deaths often go undiagnosed. The more than 200 poisonous species of plants on Canadian range cause chronic illness and debilitation, decreased weight gain, abortion, birth defects, poor reproductive performance, and photosensitization. Some poisonous plants are nutritious when eaten in small amounts, […] Read more
Danger stalks spring pastures
Vet Advice with Dr. Ron Clarke
New formulations change dewormer options for cattle producers
Vet Advice with Dr. Ron Clarke
Over two decades, internal parasite control in cattle on western Canadian pastures moved from “not necessary” to “routine” for progressive cow-calf producers. While the presence of internal parasites in cattle is often inapparent, removing the economic burden they represent is now an integral component of health management in many herds. Reasons for the shift toward […] Read more
Keep Q fever in mind this calving season
Vet Advice with Dr. Ron Clarke
Q fever is a potential zoonosis every stock person should keep in mind through calving, lambing and kidding season. The disease, Q fever, and the organism, Coxiella burnetii, when present represent a serious threat to human health. Every gram of afterbirth or fluid from an infected animal contains millions of infectious particles and only a […] Read more
Calving season: the tipping point for success in beef operations
Vet Advice with Dr. Ron Clarke
Calving season is the time when most calves die. Surveys show that mortality in beef herds from birth to weaning ranges from three to seven per cent. A realistic goal for calf survival from birth to weaning is 97 per cent (Dr. Kris Ringwall, beef extension specialist, North Dakota State University). The goal can only […] Read more
Bovine TB: An old disease, a modern enigma
Vet Advice with Dr. Ron Clarke
The TB investigation in southeastern Alberta continues to unfold. The riddle of where it came from and finding ways to deal with the relative “stranger at our door” is unnerving. When the views of an anxious livestock industry, a federal regulatory agency, and a probing public collide, the task of disease control approaches unmanageable. Add […] Read more
One Health: Recreating the future
Vet Advice with Dr. Ron Clarke
On November 3, 2016, individuals, academics, nonprofit organizations and the corporate world recognized “One Health Day.” This was an opportunity to address the inextricable interaction between animals, environment and humans, and how the veterinary and medical health professions should interact. Barbara Natterson-Horowitz, MD speaking at the 2016 Hill’s Symposium, recognized that the human medical community […] Read more
Atypical interstitial pneumonia in cattle
Vet Advice with Dr. Ron Clarke
Atypical Interstitial Pneumonia (AIP) continues to plague the beef industry in unpredictable ways. Also known as acute bovine pulmonary emphysema and edema, AIP is a common cause of sudden respiratory distress in cattle, particularly adult beef cattle grazing lush pastures through late summer and fall and in feedlot cattle through the finishing period. Sudden onset […] Read more
Did we walk away from anaplasmosis too soon?
Vet Advice with Dr. Ron Clarke
As of April 1, 2014, anaplasmosis in cattle was removed from the list of federally reportable diseases. The federal government is no longer involved in controlling the disease. Import controls were basically removed. Cows purchased from infected areas of North America are no longer tested before entering Canada despite the fact that testing reduces the […] Read more
What do coffee and doughnuts have in common with beef?
Animal Health with Ron Clark, Dvm
The Canadian Beef Industry Conference 2016 (CBIC 2016) provoked thought on many topics. Presentations by a host of food industry icons stirred the imagination of the cattle industry, a body once thought inert and cloaked so deeply in tradition and romance that any significant degree of change seemed improbable.Through two solid days of presentations, I […] Read more
Fighting AMR: A true test of human resilience
The ongoing explosion of antimicrobial-resistant infections continues to plague global health care. Our inability to mount significant countermeasures to resistance, while at the same time enduring the decline in research and development of new antibiotics creates a “perfect storm” and the fear we may be on final approach to a pre-antibiotic era of serious and […] Read more
Canadian Cattlemen Presents: Depth of Field
